SolaraGuy.com

I'm new to this forum first off, so forgive me if this has been answered in someone elses question about their car.

I'm also not a guy, lol not that it matters? I love my solara so that shouldn't matter right

Here's my question:

I'm pretty sure I got a half a tank of bad gas about 6-7 months ago. My car started idling rough any time I was in park or at a stop sign/light. The car use to run idle at 800-700 rpm, now it's right at 500-400rpm. My friend also started having problems with their car and had to have a fuel injector replaced. (They had a full tank of the same places gas the same day I filled half of mine) As soon as I started having problems I went to Napa and was told to add Sea foam to my gas tank next time I filled up and to add Premium gas to it. I did this, it maybe got a little better. I did it again a month later. It's been running fine, minus idle. It doesn't run as bad as it use to when it's idling, but something is still not right. I want to figure out what's wrong with it. My grandpa told me to go to Auto Zone and have them check my fuel sensor, etc. He thinks it might be that. I went there 2 times to 2 different Auto zones and neither place had a result showing it was a sensor. The last guy told me it's called a check engine light test that they are doing and that's the only test they do there. I have someone who can fix my car for free if I find out what the problem is, but I want to be for sure what's wrong. Anyone have an idea what's wrong? I have an 2003 Toyota Solara.

Thanks everyone,
Rachael

Get a tune up.

Spark Plugs, Wires, PCV Valve, Air Filter, Oil change, Seafoam down the INTAKE.

^^ This.

But I'd go Seafoam, then oil change

Did they tell you any codes when they scanned it for the CEL (check engine light)

welcome to solaraguy! well solaragirl in your case. haha

Since your car seems to be fine at speed I would think the problem would be with the Idle Control Valve (ICV). I've experienced the same symptoms in other cars I've owned and each time the ICV was the culprit. I removed the ICV from the engine and found that there was a good amount of gunk in there that interfered with the operation. After cleaning all the crap out of the ICV and re-installation, the car idled perfect again. In some cases the gunk or corrosion could be really bad at which point you would have to replace the ICV altogether. Hopefully, this is the case for you since it's not a $$$ fix. Cheers!